European Citizens’ Initiative

‘ReturnthePlastics: A Citizen’s Initiative to implement an EU-wide deposit-system to recycle plastic bottles’ is open for signature collection. Organisers call upon the Commission to propose measures addressing 3 main points:

• implement an EU-wide deposit system to recycle plastic bottles;
• incentivise all EU Member States that supermarkets (chains) which are selling plastic bottles to install reverse vending machines for recycling after purchase and use by the consumer;
• make companies producing plastic bottles pay plastic taxes for the recycling and deposit system (under the principle that the polluter should pay).
If you want to support this initiative, visit the website to sign and share within your network.

An organiser of the European citizens’ initiative ‘A price for carbon to fight climate change’ spoke at the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions meeting on 8 November. The ECI representative, Marco Cappato, presented the main ideas of the (now closed) ECI, supported by over 60,000 citizens and 100 mayors in the EU. He also asked for the Parliament commitment ‘to lead the United Nations towards a global carbon price system now and in future climate summits’.

A representative of DG Climate Action and several MEPs made positive comments on the contents of the citizens’ initiative. The Vice-Chair, Ms Zdanoka (Greens/LV), highlighted an interest in discussing the ECIs more regularly – even if they don’t reach 1 million signatures.

The EU Soil Strategy for 2030, adopted 17 November, makes specific reference to the European citizens’ initiative ‘People4Soil’ and its objectives.

Repeating the initiative’s motivation as: “soil is one of the most strategic resources of Europe, as it ensures food security, biodiversity conservation and climate change regulation. It's time to protect the soils of Europe” - the Commission staff working document accompanying the Soil Strategy showcases the impact a citizens’ initiative can have – even years later. The People4Soil citizens’ initiative was registered in 2016 and collected more than 220,000 signatures, ‘raising awareness on the need for soil protection in the EU’.

The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed Romania’s action against the Commission decision to register the ‘Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures’ citizens’ initiative.

Moreover, in the judgment of Case T-495/19 Romania v Commission, the General Court noted that: “... according to the case-law, the particular added value of the ECI mechanism lies not in the certainty of its outcome, but in the possibilities and opportunities it creates for EU citizens to initiate debate on policy within the EU institutions without having to wait for the commencement of a legislative procedure. The policy debate, both with the citizens and with the institutions, takes place in particular during the campaign to gather statements of support, at the meeting with the Commission and at the public hearing in the Parliament.”

The organisers of European citizens’ initiatives are obliged to inform the European Commission of the number of collected statements of support (both online and on paper) at least every two months. This information is then made visible on our website.

Congratulations to those organisers whose initiatives reached certain milestones recently, based on their reported signature collection figures. (This information will be updated and shared regularly).

• Over 350,000:

- Stop finning, Stop the Trade

• Over 300,000:

- Save cruelty free cosmetics – commit to a Europe without animal testing

• Over 200,000:

- Right to Cure

• Over 150,000:

- Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU

• Over 100,000:

- Ban Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorships

• Over 60,000:

- Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices (Reclaim your face)

If you’d like to support any of the ongoing initiatives, please visit our website.

Don't miss your chance to pass the officially certified European Citizens' Initiative online course. Enroll now and learn directly from experts! Why wait - join the 60 people who have already signed up! Take the course! You also have the possibility to debate the content of three models in the Discuss section of the Forum.

Changing perspective is always a good way to discover new ideas! In a November blog post, we learn about students from four European universities working together on possible ECIs – with a focus on sustainable development. Working under an Erasmus+ project, these students are gaining the necessary skills and competences to promote their own citizens’ initiatives.

Dulce Lopes, a Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, shares key insights in this article on the ‘ECI - A to Z’ project. Read this and other new blog posts on the ECI Forum and learn from practitioners and experts alike.

What do you think about reforms of school systems, electoral law or education for lifelong crime prevention? Join your fellow European citizens and enter the debate in the "Discuss section" of the Forum. You did not find the topic that is close to your heart? No problem, just share your own ideas here.

The ECI has specific data collection and retention rules. Statements of support (and any copies) must be destroyed by whichever of the following dates comes first: either 1 month after you submit the initiative to the Commission; or 21 months after the collection period starts. There are more rules and exceptions outlined in the Data Protection Guidance page.

If you have questions about data protection as your campaign develops, check out the data protection guidelines for European citizens’ initiative organisers published on the ECI website.